The Boy and Some Snow

How would a young boy react to a record breaking snow in a city where it doesn't snow all the time?

Yesterday our Weather Channel gave us a fascinating glimpse into the world of a young boy who grew up to be an important part of the history of the United States.

Yesterday was a federal holiday - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I do not know how many of my readers living outside the United States have heard of the late Dr. King (assassinated in 1968) but he is one of only three people in United States history to have Federal holidays in their honor. (King's actual birthday was January 15 - like so many other Federal holidays, this holiday always falls on a Monday.)

Dr. King was a Baptist minister.  A leader of the Civil Rights movement.  A social activist.  A man who had a dream.  That dream changed the lives of millions of people.

This is perhaps his most famous speech yet - it starts slow, but once it gets going - perhaps one of the top speeches of American history. 

But once upon a time, Dr. King was a young boy.  Born in 1929, he was 10 years old when he wrote a short letter to his father about playing in snow.  Dr. King's childhood was spent in Atlanta, Georgia, where it does snow, but not that often.

The young Dr. King had a great time making snowmen and throwing snowballs, and cleaning off a sidewalk.  He mentioned how hard a job the sidewalk cleaning was.


It turns out the snowfall he shoveled was a record snowfall for Atlanta.

Atlanta has a reputation for epic - as in "epic horror" - snowfalls, and ice storms.

But young Dr. King had a fun time with the record snow he was fortunate enough to experience.

Just reading this short letter makes me want to learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. the boy and the man.  Not the legend, but the man who once enjoyed a snow day.

A fantastic thought - greatness lies inside all of us.  Greatness comes when you let it out.

Will I do things this year that are DIFFERENT? (My word for 2015)